Work support



OC. 17,1944. A M11-@HELL 2,360,508

WORK SUPPORT Filed June 14, 1945 2 sheds-sheet 2 m QW@ Patented Oct. 17,1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WORK SUPPORT Lora Allen Mitchell,Birmingham, Ala.

Application June 14, 1943, Serial No. 490,828

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in Work supports, and hasparticular relation to structures utilized as supporting means formaterial during the fashioning of an assemblage which, in the absence ofsuch means would be made more or less difficult; in explanation of thegeneral characteristics of the invention, a brief description is givenof the assembly that is tc be fashioned by the use of the presentinvention.

In U. S. Design Patent No. 132,104, to Morton, there is disclosed thedesign of a Doll cradle, an assembly that is designed to provide abassinet for a childs doll. In appearance, it is elaborate and ornate,appearing to be formed mainly of a frame with material properly drapedthereover, to provide the effect of a cradle with a canopied effect.Structurally, the foundation of the cradle is a handleless basket of thetype generally termed a chip basket, to which is applied a handle-toproduce a canopy base-and a supporting frame, with the structuregenerally hidden by the draped material which finally completes theassembly and which gives it its rich and ornate appearance.

Obviously, to construct the assembly from the material of which it isformed, much hand labor is essential, with much of this labor requiredin properly securing and draping the iiexible material; without the useof a particular type of supporting means or work support, an acceptableassembly-especially one to be duplicated for marketing purposes- Wouldbe extremely difficult, due to the fact that the assembly must befashioned about the fchip basket, the latter being an open-top basketformed in part of thin Wood splints, etc., of low cost in production,being often used as a container for the marketing of fruits, etc.; .thebasket is therefore more or less of a shell, and the diiiiculties ofattempting to build up the cradle assembly thereon Without the use ofawork support, can be understood. The basket actually forms the bedportion for the doll, and its shell-like form-open topped-offers no aidto the workman during the production; actually, it tends to hamper thedevelopment due to the diiiiculty of manipulating it .into position forsecuring efficient draping effects.

The present invention Was developed with a View to providing a Worksupport Which Would maintain the shape, etc., of the somewhat fragilebasket, and yet permit of its movement into the necessary positionsneeded to secure the best development results. In eifect, the basketserves as a shaping form which remains as a part of the nished product,but the Work support used to permit the vdevelopment to proceed withefflciency, serves to maintain the shape of the basket during the neededoperations thereon, but is removable from the nished product, to permitthe development of a succeeding cradle with a reasonable assurance of ageneral similarity between successive products.

In shape, the basket is of the elongated type at its open top-Withrounded ends-and formed with a reinforced margin, the body being formedof the splints which may be braided or otherwise arranged, with a depthof possibly six inches, the entire formation being of low cost ofproduction; it is sufficiently sturdy for its service-in its normaliield as well as in this special iieldbut in appearance it is neitherornamental nor ornate, and to change it to the highly ornate cradleformation by the development treatment of an ordinary work-a-day basket,requires manipulation as to positions of the basket for permittingdraping activities at particular points and in particular ways, thusrequiring not only the use of a Work support, but a support having anumber of characteristic features.

For instance, the bassinet appearance requires the need of a semi-canopyeffect, thus requiring the use of the equivalent of a basket-handle; butit cannot Well be standard handles of baskets of this type, since theposition and angularity of such normal handles Will not produce thedesired effect; as a result, a special member must be secured as asubstitute, and this must not only be properly located and shaped, butmust be secured to the basket body-as by riveting or with clinchednails-and this must be done Without danger of damaging the basketitself. Again, draping and securing of material as the cradle develops,requires adjustment of the basket to diiferent angles in order to permitthe most eflicient draping action; this must be made possible throughthe form of the support, since the basket alone would be more or lessunmanageable in these respects.

In other words, the Work support must give to the developing structurethe strength and maneuverability that is absent from the basket itself,and must do this in such Way as to preserve the shape and integrity ofthe basket material, and yet permit removal of the completed structurefrom the support, to permit the beginning of the operations on thesucceeding product, by `positioning a new basket.

The present invention, developed for the purpose, combines a number o felements so arranged cooperatively, as to permit these results to beobtained; in addition, it compensates for the inherent variations indimensions which are found in a series of baskets of this type whichprovide only approximate similarity under the conditions of low cost ofmanufacture. As a result, the bassinet or cradle which forms thecompleted article, can be produced under reasonably low cost conditions,and with an assurance of substantial uniformity in product.

To these and other ends, therefore, the nature of which will be moreclearly understood as the invention is hereinafter disclosed, saidinvention consists in the improved construction and combination of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation and partly in section, of awork-support according to the present invention, a basket to be drapedbeing shown by dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same, with the basket shown bydotted lines.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3 3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the same, with parts broken away.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of a modified form.

The work support is, in effect, an assembly supported on an arm IO-shownas extending horizontally, with the arm secured to a table top II;obviously, this is illustrative of a simple and convenient way in whichthe assembly may be mounted, the underlying characteristic being thatthe mounting should be so arranged as to permit the assembly to swingabout a horizontal pivot I2 from which the assembly is suspended and becapable of swinging in either direction about the pivot. In the formshown, the arm extends beyond the table top and is formed with abifurcated end Illa into the slot of which extends the upper end of avertical standard I3 of the assembly, pivot I2 extending through thelatter to provide the axis for the swinging movements of the assembly,standard I3 having its upper end properly shaped to have its swingingmovements within the slit of the bifurcated end I0a.

Standard I3 extends vertically and is of suitable length to place theassembly in a convenient position and height for the activities of theworkman, and is formed with a lower end Zone I3a of circular contourdesigned to permit of swinging movements of assembly parts on a verticalaxis, as presently explained. As a result, the assembly is so mounted asto permit swinging of the assemblage into practically all positionsneeded for proper action by the workman. The supporting characteristicof standard I3 is provided by an end member I3b secured to the lower endof the circular Zone, and of materially larger diameter than that of thecircular zone.

Mounted on the circular zone is an upper member I4 designed to bepositioned within the basket at the top or reinforced portion of thelatter; hence, member I4 has a contour which approximates the internalcontour of the basket top zone, although varied somewhat from an actualfit. For instance, since it is essential that ready positioning of thebasket can be had, member I4 is divided longitudinally into twoparts-preferably of unequal width, the portion of lesserwidth-I4a--being provided with dowel pins I5 designed to extend intosuitable openings I6 of the other member, thus permitting the members I4and I4a to be separated but be maintained in their normal planarrelationship.

In addition, member I4 carries an underlying portion I'I, a portion ofWhich-I'Ia-extends on to portion I4a, portions I'I and I'Ia extendinginto the basket below the top zone, and serving not only to reinforcemember I4 but to provide a weight factor which normally tends to retainthe assembly in its vertical position. The members I4 and |411J aresubjected to tension by a spring I8 secured to portions I'I and I'Ia,and Which tends to hold the members in their contacting positions.

Since the overall width of members I4 and I4a is less than the internalwidth of the basket, they can be readily positioned within the upperzone of the basket. To permit the members to be expanded, a cammingmember I9 is provided, this member having a camming portion I9a locatedin the Zone of portion I'I, and having a stem ISb extending upwardly toa point above member I4 and provided with a handle I9c, stem ISb havingits axis aligned with the division line between members I4 and I4a.Obviously, when the basket has been positioned relative to members I4and I4a, swinging of handle I9c will cause the two members to beseparated by the action of the camming member ISa, thus bringing theouter sides of members I4 and I4a into contact with the interior of thesides of the basket top zone and thus retain the basket firmly-inposition on the assembly.

Since these baskets may differ slightly in dimensions, and with a Viewto aiding in properly positioning the basket, it is also preferred toadd an adjustable member 20 at one end of member I4, this member beingprovided with dowel pins 20a designed to extend into slots 2Gb of memberI4, suitable set screws 2I being provided to secure member 2) inadjusted position. Member 2U will thus act to maintain the basketagainst shifting longitudinally on the assembly.

As heretofore pointed out, the cradle or bassinet includes a canopyportion which is provided by initially fashioning a handle for thebasket. rllhe front of the canopy is generally varied from that of aperpendicular to the plane of the top of the basket, so that thecommercial basket handle is less desirable-the reason for the use ofbaskets without handles, To provide the support for the canopy thereforerequires the addition of a handle to the basket, and to secure theproper shaping of it, the member I4 carries a template 22 of propershape over which the splint to be used as the handle can be properlyshaped, the ends of the splint being carried downward through thereinforcing zone of the basket, where the ends are secured by clinchednails or rivets, members I4 and I4a carrying metallic surfaces 23 atproper positions to enable the workman to readily secure the handle invproper position by rivets or nails while the basket is in position onthe assembly. After being secured, the excess ends of the handle aresnipped off.

The canopy generally has its greatest projection at the top, so that thetemplate 22 generally extends at anangle such, for instance, as is shownin Figure 3. However, it is apparent that it may be desirable to reversethe canopy to increase the side effect; in such case, the angularity ofthe template is changed, as shown, for instance, in Figure 6, in whichthe angularity is opposite that shown by the template in Figure 1. Whileit would be possible, of course, to eX- tend the template in actualvertical positiong normal to the top plane of member I4-and sucharrangement is considered to be within the purview of the invention, theappearance' of the drapery is not as attractive under such conditions,and it is therefore preferred that the temi plate be mounted to extendangularly to and normal to the top plane of the member, thus beingangular to both the vertical and the horizontal.

As is apparent, with arm I positioned on the top of a table, thestandard I3 and member I4 will be practically suspended therefrom at aconvenient height for the workman. The handleless basket form is thenpositioned relative to member I4 with the latter in the zone of the opentop of the form, with the basket-form practically anchored to the memberby manipulating lever I9c to meet the conditions at the sides of theform and member 20 for the lengthwise direction. The canopy baseform-the equivalent of a. basket handle-is then draped over the templateand secured to the basket by rivets or the like. This prepares the formfor the draping activities by the workman. Since standard I3 can beswung on its horizontal pivot, carrying the positioned form with it, andmember I4 is itself pivotally mounted on the standard, it is apparentthat all parts of the basket form can be brought to a convenientposition for the workman to perform his draping activities, thusenabling rapid work without the necessity of assuming diicult Workingpositions After the draping has been completed, the supportingT standfor the cradle can be added, and the whole then released from the worksupport by releasing the securing structures and permitting member I4 toreturn to its normal dimensions, thereby freeing the completed article.

While the invention has been developed for the production of a specicarticle, and therefore presents characteristics which are specificallyapplicable to such article, the underlying features are such as willenable it to be used for the development of other articles of a somewhatsimilar type. And I therefore reserve the right to employ it in otherrelations, insofar as the same may fall Within the spirit and scope ofthe invention a-s expressed in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. In the fabrication of articles requiring the draping of flexiblematerial about an open-top handleless basket-like form with the formretained as a portion of the completed article, a Work-support adaptedto support the form in convenient position for developing the articleincluding the drapery development, said support inform.

cluding a member, means associated with at least one side and one end ofsaid member and adapted to be adjusted laterally and longitudinally ofsaid member to permit temporarily-anchored positioning within the `formin the open-top zone of the latter, a rigid shaping template rising fromsaid member and exposed above the top of the member and mo-vabletherewith, means for pvotally supporting the member in suspendedposition for swinging movement about a horizontal axis positioned in aplane above the member and its template, and means for pivotallysupporting said member for swingin-g movement pivotally ona verticalaxis extending through the member.

2. A support as in claim l wherein anvil elements are carried by theedge of said member.

3. A support as in claim l wherein the member is divided longitudinallyto provide a pair of members one of which carries a dowel pin formationcooperative with the other portion to permit movements of the portionsrelative to each other in a single plane, said member having itsportions spring-held and carrying a camming means operative to separatethe portions for anchoring and releasing the member from the 4. Asupport as in claim 1 wherein the member carries an end-piece at one ofits ends, said endpiece having a dowel-pin formation cooperative withthe member to permit movement of the end-piece relative to the member ina single plane and to be secured in adjusted position, to thereby permitanchoring and releasing of the member relative to the form.

5. A support as in claim l wherein the member is divided longitudinallyto provide a pair of members one of which carries a dowel-pin formationcooperative with the other portion to permit movements of the portionsrelative to each other in a single plane, said member having itsportions spring-held and carrying a camming means operative to separatethe portions for anchoring and releasing the member from the form, thedivision line of said member being positioned symmetrical to but spacedfrom the longitudinal axis of the member to provide portions of unequalwidth, said member also carrying an end-piece adjustably mounted at oneend of the portion of greater width for completing the anchoringrelationship.

6. A support as in claim 1 wherein the supportign means includes avertical standard extending through the member, with the member andstandard complementally formed to permit pvotal swinging of the memberabout the axis of the standard, and a supporting arm to which an upperzone of the standard is pivotally connected for bodily swinging of thestandard and member about a horizontal axis.

LORA ALLEN MITCHELL.

